The present invention relates generally to automatic performance apparatus, such as sequencers, automatic accompaniment apparatus and automatic rhythm performance apparatus, and more particularly to an improved music performance data processing method and apparatus which are arranged to control a visual display that can be used easily by a user in creating/editing performance data.
Hitherto, sequencer-type automatic performance apparatus have been known which store performance data (performance information) input via an electronic musical instrument""s keyboard, computer and the like. With such automatic performance apparatus, a user can not only freely create performance data of desired performance tones but also freely edit stored performance data as desired. That is, these automatic performance apparatus are equipped with various functions that allow the user to readily make and edit the performance data. Among these functions are one for window-displaying a performance data editing screen in a predetermined format or form so that the user is to enter performance data and arrange and edit the performance data with a high degree of flexibility. Examples of the window-displayed performance data editing screen include: a track view window via which the user is allowed to create a music piece by sequentially pasting block data (each block data comprises performance data of a predetermined unit of a music piece such as a measure) at optionally-selected points of the measures or beats for each of tracks displayed on the screen; a staff window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data by just pasting notes, symbols etc. onto a musical score (e.g., a staff); a list window via which the user is allowed to finely enter performance data, such as tone pitch data, of each note in a numerical value; a piano roll window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data by graphically editing key depression timing and duration or time length of each key depression on a piano or other keyboard instrument; and a drum window via which the user is allowed to enter performance data only for a rhythm part. Each user can cause a plurality of performance data editing screens to be window-displayed simultaneously so that creation/editing of the performance data can be performed easily through these window-displayed performance data editing screens; thus, a wide variety of users, from only beginners to power users, can create full-scale music pieces in a smooth manner. Operations such as for displaying and entering the performance data via the performance data editing screens are being performed by performance data processing apparatus.
In creating performance data or editing desired existing performance data, the conventionally-known performance data processing apparatus always window-display, as an initial screen, a performance data editing screen of a fixed form (e.g., in the form of a track view window). Some users, however, want to or have to use, as the initial screen, a different performance data editing screen than the screen of the fixed form (e.g., a staff track view window or piano roll window); even in these cases, the conventional apparatus can only window-display the performance data editing screen of the fixed form as the initial screen. Therefore, whenever an initial performance data editing screen of a user desired form is to be displayed, the user has to input predetermined commands to the apparatus through cumbersome inputting operations.
Further, in creating performance data or editing desired existing performance data, each user can set and input one or more pointers or markers for indicating desired locations of window-displayed performance data, and predetermined repeat marks each for instructing a repetitive performance of a particular tone, tone type or measure in the performance data. However, if the marker and repeat mark are set and input to a same location of the performance data in an overlapping fashion, only one of the marker and repeat mark would be actually displayed at that location. Such a display does not allow the user to clearly identify the settings and thus would present inconvenience in editing of the performance data. In addition, although the conventional performance data processing apparatus permit setting and inputting of a repeat mark (such as a mark of mere repeat, dal segno or da capo) instructing a repetitive performance of many measures, they do not permit setting and inputting of a repeat mark for instructing a repetitive performance of just one, two, three or four measures immediately preceding the repeat mark, or a repeat mark for instructing a repetitive performance of just one tone immediately preceding the repeat mark (hereinafter, such a repeat mark effective only for a relatively short performance range will be referred to as a xe2x80x9cpartial repeat markxe2x80x9d).
Furthermore, some of the conventionally-known performance data processing apparatus are designed to display chord names of performance tones on the display screen when window-displaying the performance data editing screen. However, for this purpose, it has been conventional from the apparatus to display chord name data just as stored among the performance data; that is, the known performance data processing apparatus are never arranged to display the chord name data in correspondence with predetermined chord notation for a designated transposing instrument such as a wind instrument (e.g., trumpet, saxophone or the like), so that they provide a very poor convenience of use or operability to a user making a music piece for a transposing instrument and present significant inconvenience in performance data editing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a music performance data processing method and apparatus which, when music performance data are to be visually shown on a display, allow the performance data to be automatically displayed, by default, in a user-desired display form.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a music performance data processing method and apparatus which can perform display filter control as to whether a particular display item should be displayed or not. Namely, the present invention seeks to provide a music performance data processing method and apparatus which, when both a marker and a repeat mark are set and input to a same location of performance data, can prevent the marker and repeat mark from being displayed on a screen in an overlapping relation to each other and thereby afford such a display as to permit a user to edit performance data with ease. The present invention also seeks to provide a music performance data processing method and apparatus which allow a partial repeat mark to be set and input and also permit a performance corresponding to the input partial repeat mark.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a music performance data processing method and apparatus which, when chord names of performance data are to be displayed, allow the chord names to be displayed and input after modifying the chord names in correspondence with predetermined chord notation for a designated transposing instrument such as a wind instrument.
In order to accomplish the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a music performance data processing method which comprises the steps of: setting one or more music-performance-data display forms, in response to selection by a user; storing, into a memory, information representing said one or more music-performance-data display forms set by said step of setting; and controlling a display device to automatically display music performance data in said one or more music-performance-data display forms on the basis of said information stored in said memory. The step of controlling may control the display device to automatically display, at a predetermined time point, a music-performance-data display screen in the one or more music-performance-data display forms on the basis of said information stored in the memory. The predetermined time point may be when a default window should be displayed on said display device. Thus, a screen of a user-desired display form can be set as the initial screen in such a manner that performance data are automatically displayed on the default window in the user-desired display form, through which the user is allowed to readily perform a desired operation, such as editing of the performance data, in an easy-to-use style.
The present invention also provides a music performance data processing method which comprises the steps of: setting whether or not a position mark indicative of a position of performance data and a repeat mark to be used for performing performance data repetitively over a predetermined range should be displayed on a music-performance-data display screen; storing, into a memory, information indicating whether or not the position mark and the repeat mark should be displayed, in accordance with setting by said step of setting; and controlling a display device to display the position mark and the repeat mark on said music-performance-data display screen, in accordance with said information stored in said memory.
With the above-mentioned arrangements, the user is allowed to freely make settings as to whether or not the marker or repeat mark should be displayed, and such settings are stored into the memory. In accordance with the stored settings, either one or both of the marker and repeat mark can be displayed, or neither of the marker and repeat mark can be displayed, just as desired by the user. By thus inputting the settings as to whether or not the marker or repeat mark should be displayed, only a mark or marks necessary for the user can be selectively displayed, which thereby achieves a performance data display that is very easy to view.
The present invention also provides a music performance data processing method which comprises the steps of: setting display filter parameters for controlling whether or not a particular display item should be shown on a music-performance-data display screen on a display device; and controlling said display device to not show the particular display item on the music-performance-data display screen in accordance with the display filter parameters set by said step of setting, when setting has been made to not show the particular display item. As an example, the particular display item includes at least first and second display items that are likely to be shown at a same location on the music-performance-data display screen, and the display filter parameters include data for performing control, separately for each of the first and second display items, as to whether or not the display item should be shown on the music-performance-data display screen.
The present invention also provides a music performance data processing method which comprises the steps of: inputting a repeat mark in correspondence with a desired performance location; and generating performance data, to be used for the performance location where the repeat mark has been input, in such a way as to repeat a predetermined unit of the performance data immediately preceding said performance location where the repeat mark has been input.
In the music performance data processing method thus arranged, inputting a repeat mark to a desired performance location can instruct a repetitive performance of a predetermined unit (e.g., a beat-constituting unit or measure-constituting unit) of performance data immediately preceding the desired performance location. Thus, using the repeat mark, the user is allowed to edit the performance data with great ease.
The present invention also provides a music performance data processing method which comprises the steps of: receiving data indicative of chord names in accordance with a chord progression in a music peice; designating a transposing instrument; and controlling the chord names indicated by the received data to be converted to other chord names to be displayed on a display device, in response to the transposing instrument designated by said step of designating.
When a transposing instrument is to be used, each chord name to be displayed in accordance with a chord progression in a music performance is automatically shifted or converted by a transposition amount corresponding to the automatically-designated transposing instrument, and the thus-shifted or converted chord name is displayed. With this arrangement, there can be obtained a consistency or correspondence between the displayed chord name and actual tone pitches of the transposing instrument to be used, so that even the user using the transposing instrument is allowed to readily edit the music performance data.
The present invention may be constructed and implemented not only as the above-mentioned method invention but also as an apparatus invention. The present invention may be implemented as any desired combination of the apparatus and method. Further, the present invention may be arranged and implemented as a program for execution by a processor such as a CPU or DSP, as well as a machine-readable storage medium storing such a program. Further, the processor may comprise a dedicated processor based on predetermined fixed hardware circuitry, rather than a CPU or the like capable of operating by software.